The retail technology year in review: March

RTIH takes a look back at March and rounds up the winners and losers.

Winners

86% of Brits are Amazon users/shoppers, according to research by Mintel released during March.

For the first time, UK shoppers spent more money through their smartphones when accessing UK retail sites than either desktop or tablet, according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.

In Q4 2018/19, the share of sales revenue spent through smartphone devices was 40.4%, with desktop securing 39.7% and tablet 19.9%. A further milestone was reached in December, where smartphones accounted for over 70% of mobile device sales for the first time (the other 30% was spent through tablets).

Starbucks received “significant equity” in the upcoming crypto platform Bakkt in return for a commitment to allow in-store Bitcoin-based payments.

Spanish startup Nextail was selected alongside 15 other companies for Lafayette Plug and Play’s sixth technology accelerator.

Paul Ravenscroft, Head of Personalisation and Digital Insights at Walgreens Boots Alliance, was named as one of the UK’s top ten data leaders at the DataIQ 100 Awards.

Computer vision and analytics solutions venture, Trax, was named a winner within the Business Intelligence Group’s inaugural Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards programme.

After a sluggish end to 2018 and start to 2019, the UK online retail space bounced back in February, thanks to unexpectedly warm weather.

The industry recorded its strongest growth (+9.4% YoY) in six months, according to the IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index. This did, however, fall below the five-year average of +10.6% YoY for February.

Ocado inked a partnership agreement with Australia’s Coles Group, its fifth major overseas deal in the past couple of years.

McDonald’s was set to acquire Dynamic Yield, a machine learning startup based in Tel Aviv, for $300 million.

Losers

Kroger hit back at Visa’s excessive transaction fees.

Its Smith’s Food & Drug Stores joined Foods Co. Supermarkets brand in not accepting Visa credit cards as a form of payment. That meant the boycott extended to 142 supermarket and 108 fuel centre locations across seven US states.

Online retailer and blockchain technology advocate Overstock reported Q4 revenue of $452.5 million, down from $456.3 million a year earlier. It racked up a loss of $42.3 million, compared with $95.7 million in Q4 2017.

Also in March…

Paperchase used a CVA to negotiate rent reductions and restructure its store portfolio, but it needed to do more in order to survive and thrive, according to Zoe Mills, UK Retail Analyst at GlobalData.

French e-commerce and flash sales specialist Vente-Privee suspended service in the UK, citing “economic uncertainty”.

M&S was facing an uphill battle to win over weekly food shoppers, according to GlobalData.